Give and Take
by amsrule
Summary: "What I give you, I can take away just as easily." When faced with a horrible decision, Audrey tries to find another way around it. Instead of giving Troubles... what if she took them away? An alternate ending to 4x12.
1. Chapter 1

"Are we doing this?"

"Yeah, we're doing this." Duke responded, his jaw tight and resolute. He started pulling open the buttons at the top of his Henley shirt.

Audrey paused, glancing around at the people behind her. Jennifer was to her left, arms wrapped around herself against the cold and her head angled downward so as to not watch Duke get re-Troubled. It was clear that she didn't approve. Gloria and Ben were standing behind her, patiently. She couldn't tell what the man was thinking, but Gloria already had tears in her eyes. She was getting ready to lose her son, after all. To her right was Nathan. He stood simply on the stone porch, but she could tell that he didn't know how to feel about the situation. He was already on rocky ground with Duke, but he also didn't want anything to happen to Audrey. As she stared at him, he sent her a small supportive smile.

She turned back to Duke, holding the black ball of aether between the fingers of her right hand. She imagined his curse, holding it in the forefront of her mind. He was energized by the blood of Troubled people but, most of all, he was able to end a Trouble by killing that person. Not only could he end that person's Trouble, but he also erased it from the entire family line.

It was just like William had said: the two of them had made complimentary Troubles. While she was able to give them, Duke was able to take them away.

Suddenly, Audrey remembered a moment, nearly eighteen years ago, from when she lived in a foster home. She and another child had been playing with a new toy, but had ended up fighting over it. Her foster mother had come over and taken it away, placing them both in a short time out. "What I give you, I can take away just as easily," she had said.

"I can take away…" Audrey whispered.

Duke cocked his head to the side. "What was that?"

She reached her arm up, hovering her hand over his exposed chest. Just do it Audrey, she told herself. Duke wants this, Ben wants this, and it's the best way to solve everything. Also, just because she was re-Troubling Duke, it didn't mean that she was suddenly going to become that person again. The one who William loved. The one who was evil.

No, Audrey wasn't her. She was better than that, wasn't she?

Would giving a Trouble be stooping to her past self's level?

The blonde frowned and pulled her hand away. She dropped the ball of aether into the pocket of her beige jacket.

"Audrey?" Nathan probed. She could sense him take a step forward and then hesitate, unsure of whether or not to bother her. "Everything okay?"

No, Audrey thought. She wouldn't be like that other woman. There had to be another way. Had her foster mother been right?

She spun around to face Nathan. Surprised by the sudden movement, he froze.

"Where's Aaron?" She asked.

"Huh?" Gloria spoke up. "Why do you want my grandson? Don't you touch him with those powers of yours."

Audrey looked over at the older woman imploringly. She hoped she would understand. "Please, I just… I need to see him."

Ben stepped forward. "I put him down for a nap, upstairs in his nursery."

She sighed. "Thank you." Nathan reached out and grabbed her arm, trying to speak, but she just pushed past and ran into the house. She sprinted up the stairs and down the hall, finding the pale blue painted room easily.

As she crept over to the white wooden crib, she heard erratic pounding behind her. Of course they had followed her. Nathan was first to fill into the room behind her, followed by Ben, and then the others.

"Audrey. What are you doing?"

She spared a quick glance at her partner. "I can fix this." She turned her attention back to the crib. Reaching down, she untangled Aaron from a blanket with little airplanes on it and lifted him into her arms. Thankfully, he was wearing a red plaid collared shirt and plain shorts, and not some complicated onesie. She slid her hand up his back, easily finding the place where the handprint was. She could feel its warmth radiating against her skin.

"Be careful." Duke cautioned.

Audrey smiled down at Aaron, watching as his little blue eyes began to blink open. His lower lip trembled; he was unfamiliar with the woman who was holding him. She closed her eyes and remembered what William had told her about creating a trouble. It took strong intent, the right person, and the aether. The aether and person were already in place. If she could get her intent spot on, this could work.

She hoped.

She pictured Aaron's Trouble, the pain that lived within his cries and the curse it carried. She imagined swallowing up those cries, shielding them from wounding others, and pulling the pain into herself. She visualized the curse flowing out of his little body and into her, melding with her own magic.

A burning sensation prickled at her hand. She gasped and all of a sudden she could feel her, the other woman, filling her mind. For a moment, it felt as if the two were sharing their body. The other woman, whom Audrey somehow suddenly knew was named Mara, felt like pure darkness. It only lasted a few seconds, and then Mara was gone, leaving Audrey with a pounding headache.

The baby squirmed uncomfortably and started to whimper. By the time the feeling had cooled, Aaron had started crying.

Ben rushed forward and coddled the baby into his arms. "Shhhh" He murmured, bouncing up and down to try to calm him.

Nathan marched over to Audrey. "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Parker." He said sternly.

"Really, Nathan, I'm fine." She looked up at him, trying to look as composed as possible.

He frowned. "What just happened?"

Audrey held up her hand. She was about to explain when she noticed the glowing aether that covered her skin. "Oh my God." She whispered. "I think I did it."

"Audrey. You're going to have to use more words than that. What in the hell did you just do?"

She held her hand up higher, waving it with pride. "Look! It's… I just… I took his Trouble away. It's like I pulled the aether from him."

"Woah woah woah." Duke pushed his way into the conversation. "Did I hear that right? You took his Trouble away?"

Audrey reached down to her belt with her other hand and pulled out her cell phone. She flipped it open and showed her friends the blank screen. There were no notifications. "Aaron was just crying. No one else died. I'd say he's been cured." She put away her cell phone and then looked back down at her hand. She curled up her fingers, wiping at the smudge until it rolled up into a small black ball. She dropped it into her pocket with the other one.

"Thank you, Audrey," Gloria called from across the room, where she was huddled beside Ben and the once again asleep Aaron. Jennifer stood beside them, looking back and forth between Audrey and the child in awe.

Ben smiled up at her. "Yes. I don't know how you did it, but thank you."


	2. Chapter 2

Audrey nodded to him and then turned to look at Nathan. "Let's get out of here," she recommended. She slid between her friends and started walking out of the room. She had made it half way down the stairs when Nathan caught up with her. He followed her out onto the front porch. He grabbed her waist before she could walk any further and spun her around and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was short and sweet. When she pulled away, she could see the giant grin on his face.

"Audrey, that was absolutely amazing." He stated.

She shook her head. "Not really. I just did what I thought was right."

Duke burst out of the house and stopped beside them. "What in the hell did you just do, Audrey?"

"I just took away Aaron's trouble, Duke. I just said that. Will you please calm down?"

The large man jeered. "Me, calm down? Why don't you explain what actually happened in there. Because I saw that look on your face, Audrey. You looked… different. You remembered her, didn't you? Just like William said. I knew you shouldn't have done it."

"William?" Nathan questioned.

Audrey pushed away from his embrace and poked her finger into Duke's chest. "Don't you dare bring that up. Nothing happened. I'm fine."

"What did William say?" Nathan asked loudly.

She turned to him and sighed. "He and I… Look, apparently, the original me, a long long time ago, created the Troubles. With him. We were in love and created the Troubles together and then I got caught and cursed or something and ended up in the barn. Now he thinks that if I start giving people Troubles again, I'll remember who I used to be and, ya know, go back and be with him." While the speech had originally started firmly, it ended on a low note and Audrey looked down at her shoes, afraid to see her friends' reactions.

"Well that's not going to happen." Nathan stated.

Audrey stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Of course, I know that. He, on the other hand, is pretty set on it. But look," she glared at Duke, "nothing happened up there, okay? I just took away Aaron's Trouble, now things can kind of go back to normal."

Duke took a step back and held up his hands defensively. "Alright, alright. Fine. Whatever you say, Audrey. Just don't come crying to me when—"

Audrey felt his presence before she saw him. The magic aura that surrounded him, which she used to just attribute to authority before she knew about the Troubles, tingled against her skin. She turned and looked across the lawn.

There he was. But how?

Audrey turned back to her friends, eyebrows furrowed. "Do you guys see…?" She gestured with her thumb over her shoulder. She watched the confusion settle onto their faces and she frowned.

"What are you talking about, Parker?" Nathan asked, his tone all interrogation, no emotion.

"It's Agent Howard, standing right over there. You don't see him?"

Duke shook his head. "I thought he exploded with the barn."

"I hadn't seen him since the day of the Hunter. But he's there, I'm not going crazy." The blonde insisted.

Nathan shrugged nonchalantly, although his voice softened. "Okay, I believe you."

"I believe you," Duke whined mockingly. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head or something?"

She groaned. "Shut up Duke." Audrey looked back over her shoulder; Agent Howard was still standing there, hands clasped behind his back patiently. They locked eyes for a few seconds and then Agent Howard cocked his head back, beckoning her.

"I'm going to talk to him."

"Wait." Nathan reached out and grabbed her arm. "Are you sure? Do you want us to come with you?"

Audrey sighed. "Nathan, you guys can't see him. He's here for me, I can feel it. I need to go over there. This is something I can do on my own. But if I need backup, I'll let you know." She shook his grip from her arm and then reached out to him with her other hand. "Will you hold on to these for me? Please? I just… they feel odd. I don't want them." She dropped three small black balls of aether into his open palm. Instantly, he folded up his hand and tucked the weird substance away. "Thank you." With that, she squared her shoulders, turned, and walked across the yard.

"What are you doing here?" She asked forcefully, stopping a few feet away from her old boss and crossing her arms.

"Hello Audrey." He said, his voice smooth and familiar. "It's good to see you."

"Not sure that I can say the same."

Agent Howard shook his head. "Oh Audrey. Always so brash. Seems odd, then, that you'd be the one to bring back the light."

Audrey's mind raced. The light? What was that supposed to mean? She felt as if she had heard the term before… but where?

"You have plunged this town into darkness!" She could hear a loud voice screeching through her memory.

"Witch!" Came a deeper voice.

"Who am I?" Audrey snapped back to reality and looked up at Agent Howard.

"You know who you are."

"No." She shook her head. "I was Mara. But I'm not anymore. She did all of this, she started the Troubles, not me."

The memory came back. Audrey could feel the ropes bound tightly around her. The air smelled of smoke. The townspeople in their dreary garb were yelling incoherently.

A figure stepped through the crowd and everyone fell silent. Audrey gasped. Agent Howard? He was wearing a long black tunic that was tied around the waist with a red strip of fabric. The swirly blue and yellow design along the hem of the tunic stood out among the black and brown clothes of the others. The small feathered headband around his forehead solidified the look. The height of the feathers made him look even taller than he already was, and the entire ensemble gave him an aura of power.

"You will suffer for the Troubles you've caused here."

Audrey could feel a sardonic glee build up inside her. A deep laugh burst from her chest. "You all deserved it," she growled.

"You've remembered, haven't you?" Agent Howard's voice sounded, cutting through the confusion.

"You were the Chief." Audrey said slowly.

"Of the ancient Mi'kmaq tribe, yes. The original inhabitants of this land."

All she could picture now was Agent Howard dragging her into the barn and standing over her, telling her of her fate—to spend an eternity in the barn and to always experience the Troubles.

"You trapped me—her—in there."

Still standing resolute, he asked, "Have you ever wondered what your Trouble is?"

"I'm immune to the Troubles." The blonde paused. "And you once told me that I didn't have a Trouble."

"I may have glossed over that one." He replied with a slight smirk. "With as strong of a magic as you were once able to yield, there is going to be a consequence of its use. You're the trigger for all of the magic that lingers. You're the catalyst."

Audrey gasped. She could feel the tears start to fill her eyes. And yet, it wasn't because she didn't understand what was going on or anything. It was that she finally, fully, understood. "I come back, they come back. The Troubles are my Trouble."

"Exactly. You created them, so you get to keep living through them. It took the tribe's combined power to trap you in that barn and to only allow you out every 27 years. Others felt that allowing you bits of freedom only to take it away would punish you more."

"Love. You mentioned that I had to recharge on love. So I would go out, gain love, and lose it, over and over again."

Agent Howard grinned, the smile taking over his face in a way that made Audrey extremely uneasy. "Exactly."


	3. Chapter 3

Glad you're enjoying this so far! Here's another one!

* * *

"So why am I still here now?"

"Audrey Parker was a stronger persona than expected and you found out how to take the darkness away."

Audrey held out her hands, fingers splayed and palms up. "The aether. That's the residue."

"How did you figure it out?"

One corner of her mouth quirked up. "My old foster mom used to always say that "what I give you, I can take away just as easily". I thought that might apply here, I guess. It's all about intent, right? I just couldn't let that baby lose his dad. Plus I couldn't do that to Duke. He gets to be normal. He deserves that."

"Mara!" A voice yelled out.

Audrey turned to see William stalking across the lawn.

"Henri!" He called out angrily. It took Audrey a moment to realize that that must be Agent Howard's real name. "Stay away from her. You've punished her enough."

Duke grabbed the handcuffs from Nathan's belt and, in one smooth move, launched himself at William. He had William down and his wrists cuffed in seconds.

"Hell yeah!" He shouted, pumping a fist in the air. "Take that, you son of a bitch."

Audrey felt a twinge of pain in her wrists but tried to ignore it. She still hated how she was connected to him. Her eyes met Nathan's as he stared at her, concerned. She nodded, letting him know she was okay, and then turned back to Agent Howard.

"So what are you going to do?" He asked.

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

He chuckled. "Are you just going to save everyone? Going to be a big hero?"

Audrey fell silent. She stuffed her hands in the front pockets of her jeans and shrugged. What was she going to do now? If she was meant to keep suffering, was he going to bring the barn back? But then what did he mean about the light? She glanced back at William, who was struggling in Duke's grasp. Nathan was talking to him lowly. She watched the way her lover stood—his elbows tucked in at his sides, his posture not shifting back and forth like most people usually did. Every so often, she knew, he had a tendency to rub his hand across his chin. The moment he would start, he would instantly pull his hand away and his jaw would clench, silently angry at his inability to feel his own face.

She loved him. And that's how she knew that he deserved to be free.

"If I go, they go, right? The Troubles? You're here to take me away."

"Not quite," Agent Howard—Henri—stated. "The Troubles, yes. But it will change you. It will take away any residual magic from your being and your memory. Can you handle that?"

It wasn't even a valid question for Audrey. Of course she could handle it. Firstly, because she was Audrey Fucking Parker. She had saved dozens, possibly even hundreds, of lives already and even came back from the dead (or an alternate dimension or whatever) herself very recently. Secondly, because magic didn't matter to her. All she really needed was a home.

That was all she had ever been looking for.

And within Haven, she'd found it.

Agent Howard didn't wait for Audrey to voice her approval. He didn't need to hear it—it was written plain as day across her face. Her usually stress wrinkled forehead was relaxed, her fingers unclenched from her clothes, her bottom lip left unbitten. He'd been with her for decades—he knew her in and out, no matter what persona she took on.

A small battle of pride raged within him. Yes, he had spent centuries with her, entrusted by his tribe with the responsibility of keeping her in check and making sure she suffered cycle after cycle. Had she really earned her freedom now?

He no longer had a Grand Council to confer with, but he could guess that they would support his opinion. His knowledge and wisdom had only increased in vastness over the centuries. The pain of her original betrayal—the creation of the Troubles—no longer hurt. It was time to let go.

Audrey whisked away from her reverie and was about to speak when Agent Howard reached out and clasped his hands on her shoulders. She would probably count on one hand the number of times they had actually had physical contact, so its suddenness knocked the breath out of her. She stared at her boss, her mentor, her punisher, her guide with wide eyes.

He pulled himself up to his full height and whispered a few words under his breath.

Her heart began to pound harder and faster, rushing in her ears. She felt the wind pick up around her, whipping her bangs across her face and pushing her slightly off balance.

Distantly, she could hear a familiar voice calling out her name. But the moment she noticed it, the moment she forgot. All she could focus on was the heat building up in her chest and her arms and her legs and her head and it was so much and too much and the next thing she knew, it boiled over and exploded outward. A flash of light surrounded her and she squeezed her eyes shut.


	4. Chapter 4

Slowly, carefully, the weight of the world settled back down around her. She fell forward onto her knees in the grass and rested there for a few seconds to reorient herself.

It wasn't until she opened her eyes that she noticed that Agent Howard was gone.

"Thank you for making this town a true Haven again." His voice rang through her mind.

Haven. The Troubles. Nathan.

Audrey whirled around. "Nathan!" She called out frantically. She couldn't see him, but Duke was standing there, his body hunched over with fear. "Duke!" As soon as he heard her voice, he looked up.

"Audrey!"

The blonde bound to her feet and sprinted across the lawn. It was then that she spotted Nathan, sprawled out in the grass, unconscious.

"Duke, what happened?" She asked breathlessly.

He threw his arms into the air in exasperation. "I don't know. You tell me! There was this burst thing and then Nathan fell and William disappeared and—"

"William?!" Audrey interrupted her friend by slamming a hand down onto his chest. "He just, what, vanished?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure he didn't escape or anything while you were distracted?"

"Oh, sure Audrey, I just decided to let him get away—No! Come on, what do you take me for? He was just literally here, handcuffed and everything, a second ago. Then he wasn't."

"Okay, okay." Audrey stepped back, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry Duke. Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"Nathan." A rough, staticky voice sounded. "Nathan, you there honey?"

Audrey looked down. "Nathan. Crap." She knelt on the ground beside him, one hand reaching for the walkie talkie on his belt and the other pressing against his neck. She felt around and found Nathan's pulse. It was strong and even, thankfully. She laid her hand against his chest and sighed.

"Laverne?" She said into the long black device. "It's Audrey. What's going on?"

"I can't ahold of the Chief, but there's reports of unconsciousness all across town. Even here in the station. Any idea what's going on? Where's Nathan?"

"He's unconscious too. Keep track of those reports, send whoever's on duty to check on things." Audrey spoke clearly.

Laverne sent back a quick affirmation and then Audrey set down the walkie talkie.

"Duke?" She looked back up at the tall man in question. "You should go check on Jennifer. Can you go inside and make sure her and Gloria and Ben are alright?"

He spared a quick glance down at Nathan and then gave her a thumbs up gesture. "Will do." He jogged over to the large colonial house and disappeared inside.

Audrey turned her full attention back to Nathan. She bent over him and started talking in a low tone. "Nathan? I need you to wake up." She cupped his cheek in her hand and rubbed the pad of her thumb back and forth along his jaw. His stubble tickled against her skin.

"Nathan?" She called out again. "Nathan, please. Come back to me."

The man let out a soft groan and his eyelids twitched.

Audrey sighed with relief. "Yes! There we go."

His head shifted from one side to the other before he managed to force his eyes open. They fell immediately onto the beautiful woman beside him and a small grin lit up his face.

"Parker," he said, his voice husky and dry.

Audrey couldn't stop herself. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. Then she pulled away, whispered his name as if she couldn't believe that he was actually there, and kissed him again.

When they finally separated, Audrey helped Nathan pull himself up into a sitting position.

"So what happened?"

"I don't really know," she said. While she remembered having a conversation with Agent Howard, she wasn't quite sure what had prompted so many people to fall unconscious all at once. Could it have been a Trouble? "I was just talking to Agent Howard and then there was a flash and William disappeared and you and a bunch of people passed out."

Quickly, she reached out for the walkie talkie again and hit the button on the side. "Laverne?"

"I'm here, honey." The scratchy voice instantly responded.

"Any news?"

The Haven Police Department dispatcher paused for a moment before responding, "Yes, people seem to be waking up. Everyone is disoriented and confused."

Audrey's cop instinct took over. "Okay, well contact the hospital staff and let's start getting people checked out, just in case. In the meantime, I'm going to try to figure out what just happened. Also, let me know when you hear from Dwight."

"Alright, dear. And how's Nathan?"

"He's—" Audrey stared at her lover for a moment and could tell that something was different. His eyes were wide and innocent-looking and he was rubbing his hands together. He wouldn't have any reason to do that unless… "He's waking up, doing alright."

"That's good, sugar. I'll keep you updated on this end."

Before Laverne had even stopped talking, Audrey had dropped the walkie talkie and reached out to place her hand over Nathan's.

"I can feel. My Trouble—it's gone. I can…" He trailed off and moved one hand down, weaving his fingers through the prickly grass.

"Yeah," the blonde smiled. She flashed back to the talk with Agent Howard and the way that burning feeling had exploded from her. Seconds later, the realization hit her full force and she gasped. "I think the Troubles are gone. All of them."

Nathan, his expression still full of an adorably child-like wonder, asked, "What? How?"

She sighed. "I'll tell you about it later. Right now, we have to go make sure everyone is okay. Can you stand?"

He was a bit insulted by her brushing off his questions, but at the same time, he understood. She was in cop mode, not personal mode. Her job came first, a feeling he possessed as well. He fell into his cop persona and nodded succinctly.

The pair disentangled themselves and stood. They began walking toward the house.

Halfway there, Nathan paused. "Wait, what did you say about William?"

Audrey chuckled. "He's nothing to worry about."

They walked into the house to find Ben sitting on the couch, holding his head tiredly in his hands. Gloria was rocking the baby on her shoulder while Duke stood next to her. Jennifer was curled up against his side, her arms wrapped around his waist. The three were involved in what seemed like an intense conversation.

Everyone froze when they entered the room.

Jennifer was the first to speak up. "Audrey, what happened out there?"

The blonde chuckled. "The Troubles are over."

Ben lifted up his head. "What?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I don't know how to explain, so please don't ask. But it seems like it all just… ended. Everyone with a Trouble just passed out, so there's a bit of chaos in town right now, but I think everything's going to be okay."

"Wait," Duke called out. He pulled away from the brunette, strode over to Audrey and crossed his arms. "No offence, but how can you be sure?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean, Duke?"

Nathan stepped forward and slapped his hand down onto Duke's shoulder. "I can feel."

The taller man turned to him with wide eyes. "Really?"

"Really."

"So if I hit you, it'll hurt?"

Audrey reached up and forced the two apart. "Okay, we really don't need to be fighting right now. Just trust me. It's all over."

"Did Agent Howard do it?" He asked lowly, trying not to let the others hear.

She nodded briefly. "Yeah, he was a big part of it. We'll talk later." She stepped away and moved toward the others. "So is everyone okay here?" They all nodded. "Okay. Well Nathan and I need to get down to the station and check in with everyone. Duke, if you and Jennifer want to come along and help that would be great."

Duke tried to hide his smile. He was glad to be included. "Sure."

"Alright, let's go." She turned and started walking out of the door.

Behind her, Gloria was smiling with awe. "Haven has become a true Haven again."

Audrey reached over and grabbed Nathan's hand, sending a small smile his way. "Haven for God's orphans."

* * *

Yeah it's cheesy I guess, but I wanted to wrap up the Troubles somehow. Let me know what you think and thanks for reading!


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